Cong. Beth El dedicates newly expanded home

Yardley synagogue welcomes new era with services, gala

Just a few finishing touches remain for the completion of Beth El’s $3.2 million expansion.

Just a few finishing touches remain for the completion of Beth El’s $3.2 million expansion.

by Marilyn Silverstein
NJJN Bureau Chief/PMB

June 10, 2008

Members of Congregation Beth El of Lower Bucks County in Yardley came together during Memorial Day weekend to dedicate their newly expanded synagogue.

The weekend included celebratory Shabbat services on May 23 and 24, a dedication ceremony on the morning of May 25, and a gala dinner-dance that evening honoring congregants Rose and Michael Koretsky, first vice president of Beth El.

For Rabbi Jeff Pivo, the events marked the beginning of a new era for the 280-family Conservative congregation.

“All weekend, we’ve been saying the future is now,” Pivo said as he stood in the window-filled reception hall of the newly expanded synagogue before the dedication ceremony. “We are now a full-service synagogue and a truly communal institution.”

Around him stretched the 12,000-square -foot expansion — the reception rotunda, a 275-seat sanctuary, a large social hall, two kosher kitchens, a gift shop, an elevator, and a second-floor storage facility — all of it topped by a soaring, 44-foot-high copper-style roof.

Randall Flager, copresident of Beth El, moderates the dedication program.

Randall Flager, copresident of Beth El, moderates the dedication program.

Photos by Marilyn Silverstein

“The building is an architectural masterpiece,” said Randall Flager of New Hope, Pa., congregational copresident and moderator of the dedication program. “Combine that with a warm, haimische congregation, and it’s fabulous. We’re in a position for future growth.”

“This is an absolutely exciting, phenomenal milestone for the community,” added Michael Rettig of Holland, Pa., Flager’s copresident. “It’s a real expression of optimism for the future of Conservative Judaism in Lower Bucks County.”

For Rabbi Neil Gillman, the openness of the architecture mirrors the openness of the congregation.

For Rabbi Neil Gillman, the openness of the architecture mirrors the openness of the congregation.

Close to 300 people filled the synagogue sanctuary for the dedication program, which was keynoted by Rabbi Neil Gillman, professor of Jewish philosophy at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America in New York.

Also on hand for the dedication were a number of officials from Lower Makefield Township, the county, and the state, as well as U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy (D-Pa.), who presented the congregation with an American flag that had flown over the U.S. Capitol Building on May 14, Israel’s 60th anniversary.

Rabbi Jeff Pivo affixes a mezuza to the doorpost of the newly expanded Congregation Beth El of Lower Bucks County.

Rabbi Jeff Pivo affixes a mezuza to the doorpost of the newly expanded Congregation Beth El of Lower Bucks County.

The day of dedication, Pivo told the gathering, marked the end of the congregation’s $3.2 million campaign for a new building and the beginning of a campaign for a new community.

“We not only dedicate this building,” he said, “but we rededicate ourselves to bringing Jewish learning into Lower Makefield Township for ourselves, our children, and all who will cross its threshold. Today, we dedicate a holy and sacred community.”

As Gillman keynoted the program with a d’var Torah on the building of a sanctuary, he also remarked on the synagogue’s architecture.

“I love the light. I love the windows,” the rabbi said. “It’s airy. It’s open. And my sense is, that’s the spirit and the culture of this congregation.”

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